A story from our community
The Places We Shop - The Princeton Record Exchange
The Princeton Record Exchange was my very first “Places We Shop-Princeton Series” painting. Painted on February 25, 2026, there had been a giant snowstorm the day before that closed the entire region down. My husband dropped me off because we were both excited to say hi to Jon Lambert, the owner. We bought his former house in 2023. (In fact, I’m writing this piece in that very house.)
Jon showed me the back room, which is almost as big as the store, where they catalog about 30,000 pieces a month! On one side, there is a wall of photo collages featuring former employees, and a calendar with Princeton Record Exchange representing February. Created by James McPhillips, the artist who also made the Prince + Ton stickers, that calendar appeared again when I painted at Homestead Princeton. Another artist celebrating local shops!
Jon brought out photos from before the garage was built on Spring Street. I couldn’t believe how much the townscape had changed with that development. Jon shared that over the time he’s been in business, he’s had about 100 employees. He gives them health insurance and pays for snow days, including the previous day! He said he currently has 7 people working for him who have been with him for over 25 years.
After we talked, I set up my easel facing the long rows of records labeled “ROCK.” The last time I did a series of paintings of local shops up in Massachusetts was 2007-2010; a good 16+ years ago.
I listened to the music in the store as I painted, and thought, “Wow, I’ve been teaching for a decade, not paying close attention to my music anymore.” With children, I often listen to what they want to hear (From Siamese to K-pop Demon Hunters). The staff took turns picking music. At first, it was unfamiliar, but really cool. The first album that I listened to reminded me of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. The next album reminded me of Liz Phair. But the third album, I definitely knew - White Zombie. It brought me back to the late 1990s and OzFest. My brother asked me to drive him and a group of his friends to the all-day music festival at Great Woods in Foxboro, MA. By the time “More Human Than Human” came on, I was tapping my feet and moving my brush quickly across the canvas.
The people who wandered past did take a moment to say hi or comment positively. One customer shared that Winston Churchill had been quite the painter. The staff was very kind, too. I did notice that the male-to-female ratio was distinctly dude-heavy. But it was such a chill space, my artist heart was quite content for the hours I got to spend there. When I finally packed up after several hours, my body was sore, but I felt alive painting out in the world, listening to music, and talking to people. Princeton Record Exchange was a fabulous first store!
(Written from the heart, without the use of AI.)
Jon showed me the back room, which is almost as big as the store, where they catalog about 30,000 pieces a month! On one side, there is a wall of photo collages featuring former employees, and a calendar with Princeton Record Exchange representing February. Created by James McPhillips, the artist who also made the Prince + Ton stickers, that calendar appeared again when I painted at Homestead Princeton. Another artist celebrating local shops!
Jon brought out photos from before the garage was built on Spring Street. I couldn’t believe how much the townscape had changed with that development. Jon shared that over the time he’s been in business, he’s had about 100 employees. He gives them health insurance and pays for snow days, including the previous day! He said he currently has 7 people working for him who have been with him for over 25 years.
After we talked, I set up my easel facing the long rows of records labeled “ROCK.” The last time I did a series of paintings of local shops up in Massachusetts was 2007-2010; a good 16+ years ago.
I listened to the music in the store as I painted, and thought, “Wow, I’ve been teaching for a decade, not paying close attention to my music anymore.” With children, I often listen to what they want to hear (From Siamese to K-pop Demon Hunters). The staff took turns picking music. At first, it was unfamiliar, but really cool. The first album that I listened to reminded me of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. The next album reminded me of Liz Phair. But the third album, I definitely knew - White Zombie. It brought me back to the late 1990s and OzFest. My brother asked me to drive him and a group of his friends to the all-day music festival at Great Woods in Foxboro, MA. By the time “More Human Than Human” came on, I was tapping my feet and moving my brush quickly across the canvas.
The people who wandered past did take a moment to say hi or comment positively. One customer shared that Winston Churchill had been quite the painter. The staff was very kind, too. I did notice that the male-to-female ratio was distinctly dude-heavy. But it was such a chill space, my artist heart was quite content for the hours I got to spend there. When I finally packed up after several hours, my body was sore, but I felt alive painting out in the world, listening to music, and talking to people. Princeton Record Exchange was a fabulous first store!
(Written from the heart, without the use of AI.)
About the Contributor
Barbara DiLorenzo is thrilled to be the 2026 Princeton Public Library (PPL) Maker-In-Residence. Building on a painting series she began in Ipswich, MA, over two decades ago, she returned to the idea of focusing on the organic retail landscape of our independent retailers in a small town. The PPL reached out to several Princeton businesses for this project. In return for letting her paint on-site for a few hours, each shop will get to keep their painting.